Are You Too Sexy for This Friendship?

Study: Most people find platonic male-female relationships cause more harm than good

by Lesley Kennedy • MORE.com Reporter

The whole idea of friends with benefits is troublesome enough. Now friends without benefits turns out to come with pitfalls, too. In the words of Rodney King (may he rest in peace), can’t we all just get along?

The Daily Mail in the U.K. reports researchers have found most people think having pals of the opposite sex is more burdensome than beneficial.

Why? Well, attraction to the opposite sex is the biggie, as you might guess, followed by jealousy from their mates, according to the newspaper.

“Our findings implicate attraction in cross-sex friendship as both common and of potential negative consequence for individuals’ long-term mateships,’ ” the study authors write in the August issue of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, the Daily Mail reports.